Sone Keiko, Yamamoto-Sawamura Takako, Kuwahara Sachi, Nishijima Kazutoshi, Ohno Tamio, Aoyama Hiroaki, Tanaka Shin
Animal Facility for Aging Research, National Institute for Longevity Sciences, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Japan.
Exp Anim. 2007 Apr;56(2):139-48. doi: 10.1538/expanim.56.139.
Changes of estrous cycles with aging of F344/N rats between 1 and 30 months of age (M) were monitored by vaginal smear cytology. The vaginal opening and first cornified cell phase were identified at 1.3 +/- 0.1 M and 1.5 +/- 0.2 M, respectively. Thereafter, estrous cycles showed about 5-day intervals, and ceased at 16.4 +/- 1.2 M. Thereafter irregular appearance of single cornified cell phases without the preceding of nucleated cell phases interspersed with a predominant leukocyte phase was seen in vaginal smears until 26.9 +/- 0.5 M. Growing and mature follicles as well as corpora lutea persisted until at least 30 M, and characterized the post reproductive aging of F344/N females. The F344/N rats seem to resemble humans in that the cessation of estrous cycles occurs at approximately half their entire lifespan. However, other aging characteristics are unknown in postmenopausal women. Therefore, we must be careful when extrapolating the aging changes of reproduction in F344/N rats to human beings.
通过阴道涂片细胞学监测1至30月龄（M）的F344/N大鼠随年龄增长的发情周期变化。阴道开口和首次出现角质化细胞期分别在1.3±0.1月龄和1.5±0.2月龄时确定。此后，发情周期间隔约为5天，并在16.4±1.2月龄时停止。此后，在阴道涂片可见单个角质化细胞期不规则出现，无核细胞期在前，且夹杂着以白细胞为主的时期，直至26.9±0.5月龄。生长卵泡、成熟卵泡以及黄体持续存在至至少30月龄，这是F344/N雌性大鼠生殖后衰老的特征。F344/N大鼠在发情周期停止发生在其整个寿命的大约一半这一点上似乎与人类相似。然而，绝经后女性的其他衰老特征尚不清楚。因此，在将F344/N大鼠生殖衰老变化外推至人类时必须谨慎。
